"Mama Coca": A Study on the Presence of Cocaine In Inca Society

Cocaine: An Unauthorized Biography

The landscape of the Central Andean
mountainside exhibits a rich variety of vascular plants that are periodically
separated by high-altitude forests and woodlands. Within this myriad of flora,
a most unremarkable shrub that bears a great resemblance to an orange tree
–albeit with paler leaves- can be found (Mortimer, 6). Erythroxylum, a genus that features over 250 species, is perhaps
easily overlooked in its natural setting, but one of its varieties is in fact
unavoidable on a world scale. Not only is it known to be the source behind the
most lucrative illegal drug industry on the planet, which pulls in an
incredible revenue of $92 billion dollars per year[1],
it was also the motivation behind the first anti-drug campaign, the indulgence
of inquisitive minds such as Sigmund Freud, and the fuel of both wars and
economies. Known as Erythroxylum coca,
or cocaine, this substance had gained a reputation long before its slanderous
past as portrayed in modern history. Instead of being considered a dominant
evil, cocaine –in the form of the coca leaf- served as a pillar of life for one
of the most incredible Empires ever to exist; the Inca. From the early 13th
century onward, the children of the sun exalted this plant and integrated it as
an active presence in every aspect of existence. It would provide the Inca with
a source of survival even after their realm was cast into darkness by the
Spanish in the 1500s, upon which the sacredness and true characteristics of
coca faded into the shadows with the remains of the civilization, born of the
Sun.

The
Incans, whose civilization arose from the depths of Lake Titicaca, began their
incredible history embodied in the forms of the mythological personalities of
Manco Ccapac and Mama Ocllo (Mortimer, 32). From the empire’s legendary
founding at Cuzco onward, the children of the sun prospered under increasingly
complex political, social, religious and cultural institutions. While these
spheres of society were often interwoven, one practice –characteristic of all
the aforementioned institutions- was possibly the most binding, and unarguably
the most interesting; the chewing of coca leaves, or perhaps more blatantly
stated, cocaine use.

While
this might seem controversial by present-day slander of the substance, it must
be understood that coca use, mainly thru chewing, was not simply a
time-squandering recreational drug for the Incans. While being used as a method
of attaining a state of euphoria, it surpassed the physical consequences and
provided a symbol and source of endurance and vitality, which can account for
the devotion to this plant as seen in its legends of origin. One of these tales
related to the creation of coca refers to the death of a beautiful but morally
loose woman, who –upon being cut in half- produces the coca plant, or “mama
coca”. (Karch, 3) The social conduct of disallowing the use of coca until a
man’s first physical encounter with a woman arises directly from this folklore,
but furthermore, the circumstances of the plants creation from both the
aforementioned tale and others such as one concerning the god Inti, grants it
an aspect of sacredness and divinity, as is evidenced through its prominent
role in most, if not all, religious ceremonies and traditions.

The
appearance of coca in religious ceremonies is boundless, but a general pattern
of use can be distinguished; and that is as either a form of sacrifice or as an
aid in attaining spiritual insight through ingestion. In reverence to the dead,
for instance, coca leaves were offered to the mummies of the deceased, in order
for the soul of the departed to be strengthened and sustained. Not only were
the mummies buried with a number of pouches filled with the substance, they
also passed onto the next life with the leaves placed in their mouth (Mortimer,
69). The plant also served as offerings to a variety of deities such as the
earth goddess, Pachamama, through whom the hopes for a full harvest might be
fulfilled, and often provided the most important sacrifice during festivals
such as that of the Sacred Fire (Mortimer, 73). When serving as a masticatory,
a higher level of revelation could be reached by those of the with the proper
religious authority, while other uses, such as the burning of the leaves and
the coinciding reading of the smoke, allowed individuals of divination to
communicate with the spirit world (Streatfeild, 16).

But
it was in other realms than that of the abstract that coca served so many
pivotal roles. Politically, it remained an underlying factor. Not only did it
serve as a form of tribute to the government, especially from conquered regions
that were known for their superior coca production, but it also sustained and
supported the administrative regime. In turn, during times of low agricultural
yield and widespread famine, coca would be redistributed as a supplicant source
of nutrition to aid the populace in survival.

The emperor himself, who was believed to
be divine, always had the substance on his person, hanging about his waist in a
small pouch known as a chuspa. The
Inca monarchs, as well as all other future candidates for this position, were
only allowed the privilege of coca chewing after the completion of an extensive
initiation, after which they would receive their first chuspa and use of the
royal coca (Mortimer, 38).

Royalty
were although not the only ones to institute “mama coca” into their everyday
life. Runners of the kingdom, or individuals who relayed information throughout
the empire, were allowed a certain amount of coca from strategically placed
storehouses, which would aid in sustaining them from one destination to the
next, while others, such as soldiers, orators, and historians, partook in the
leaf in order to increase mental acuity (Hafen, 35).

Coca was also commonly integrated into
every day life, albeit more for the elite. Most Incan cloths, for instance,
were intricately woven with several patterns, and would in almost all instances
feature the coca leaf within its grand design. As was the case with pottery or
sculptures, such as that of an Incan Venus, which was often depicted clasping a
spray of coca in her hands (Mortimer, 56). The concept of the coca leaf was
also used in measuring distances throughout the empire, based upon the ground
that could be covered by an individual under the influence of the plant, while
through the duration of the cocaine’s effects, time could be measured. Perhaps
coca was the most culturally important when serving as an anesthetic to the
practice of trephining, a procedure
that would result in the opening of holes in the skull in order to relieve
pressure, cure mental illnesses, or treat a variety of other complaints (Hafen,
36). Accordingly, cocaine remained an integral part of Inca culture and life,
well to the end of the 1500s.

It
is at the turn of the 16th century that the implications of coca use
were drastically distorted through the provincial mindedness of Western
conquerors. The egocentric view that caused the apparent innocent act of coca
chewing to be transformed into a cardinal sin arrived along with Amerigo
Vespucci and other subsequent emissaries of Europe. Seen as nothing more but a
barbarian habit of a primitive people, the use of coca was immediately
denounced by European society, including the Pope, who soon upon learning of
the masticatory practice, called for what would become the first anti-drug
campaign.

The
efforts to stem the tide of Incan cocaine use although soon ceased with the
downfall of the great empire, signaled by the murder of the great Inca monarch,
Atahualpa. It was subsequent to this occurrence that the Spanish began to
understand the potential that coca could provide. Not only would the despairing
Incan populace trade and buy the substance, which had fallen under Spanish
supervision, but they would also accept the plant as payment for labor; labor
to attain unsurpassed treasure of gold and silver. With the profitability of the
coca industry realized, Spain began to support its overseas mining expeditions
and royal coffers with the revenue that the drug commerce provided.

But
while European nations began to flourish from the product they would come to
denounce again and again, the Inca, whose lives were intangibly related to the
substance, fell into despair. It seems that coca chewing was one of the few
cultural aspects that was able to survive the downfall of the empire; and it is
to this effect that the remaining Incans clung to the plant and its traditional
use. They steadfastly demanded to receive coca as payment for their exploited
labor in the hazardous mines, such as those at Potosi, or required it as profit
from working the coca fields, which proved to be a deadly endeavor as well. It
seems almost as if their fate was blatantly evident to them, and that through
the continued practice of coca chewing, the reality of their fast-approaching
end might not have been so hard to accept.

The
Spanish conquerors would have been the last to keep this vital element from the
Inca. They were aware of the veneration towards the coca leaf, which to them
met with indifference, but were even more conscious of the effects that coca
chewing procured. Individuals who masticated the plant often worked an
unnatural amount of time with little or no other nutrients. It was an excellent
way to supply the labor force, with apparent little cost to the Spanish
themselves. Naturally, there remained even in the New World, opponents to the
practice, but it was a fairly un-influential minority of Spanish priests, who
argued that the drug stood between the Incas and the Catholic Faith. All others
who co-habited with those of the fallen empire decided that the salvaging of
souls would not be as lucrative as all other endeavors, so use continued fairly
unhindered.

Exploitation
of Inca labor procured through a newly founded drug economy sadly characterized
the end of what had once been an incredible land ruled over by a culturally and
politically superior empire. The act of coca chewing, which had enhanced the
Inca way of life now served simply as a device to ease the suffering of a
sealed fate that had been delivered by a provincially minded people, ignorant
to anything beyond their egocentric sight. Furthermore, Europeans –upon
comprehension of the purpose and effects of cocaine- tragically corrupted its
use, ravaging the practice of coca chewing of its previously divine state and
transforming it into a universal threat, embodied in a costly, dangerous, and illegal
industry that persists into modern times. It is incredible how easily the
sacredness and divinity of a “barbaric” ritual was so easily corrupted by the
“civilized” man.

Works
Cited

Mortimer, W. Golden. Peru: History of Coca. “The Divine Plant” of
the Incas. New

Comments

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paita 3 years ago

Here is also some facts that always seem to be left out about coca.Coca has never ever been,''tested'' alone,ever..Every single ,''test'' and extraction w/coca has sed etahol and hydrochloric acid 1st,then added the coca leaf to that acid and ethanol,the end product of the 3 is benzoylecgonine,not cocaine,,,paita

Author

Lilith Eden 4 years agofrom Memphis, TN

Gibson:

You just earned a footnote in the hub. Lol.

Thanks for sharing!!

Gibson L 4 years ago

Lilith,

Here is a little fun fact for you: The time it took to chew a quid of Coca was about forty minutes which measured about two level miles. They measured it based off that.

Author

Lilith Eden 6 years agofrom Memphis, TN

Craig,

You know, me neither. It wasn't until I read Cocaine: An unauthorized Biography, that I learned any of this. It's a great read by the way, in case you are interested.

And thank you (as usual)

-Lilith

Craig Suits 6 years agofrom Florida

Hiya Lilith...

I had no idea coca leaf chewing was so prevelant in that culture. Thing's haven't changed much have they?